Lady Liberty Reopens for 4th

In this June 26, 2013 photo provided by the National Park Service, workers on Liberty Island install sod around the national monument which is set to re-open on the 4th of July, in New York. (AP Photo/National Park Service,)

(Newser)
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The Statue of Liberty finally reopened today, months after Superstorm Sandy swamped its little island in New York Harbor, as Americans across the country marked the Fourth of July with fireworks and barbecues. A large crowd gathered for the holiday and ribbon-cutting ceremony at Liberty Island with federal officials and New York's mayor. Lines stretched blocks long for the boat from Battery Park. "It's perfect timing," said the first tourist in line. "It's really a symbol for what the country is all about."

While the statue itself was spared in the fall storm, Lady Liberty's island took a serious beating. Railings broke, docks and paving stones were torn up and buildings were flooded. The storm destroyed electrical systems, sewage pumps and boilers. Hundreds of National Park Service workers from as far away as California and Alaska spent weeks cleaning mud and debris. Some repairs to brick walkways and docks are ongoing, but much of work has been completed. (Read more Statue of Liberty stories.)

and for the 4th, the inscription at the base by Emma Lazarus, effectively spat upon frequently in these comments by all the people who utterly loathed all things New York, prior to national hypocrisy day (aka 911): "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"